Communicationz

Some handy tools for building your presence as a manager

By accident, this week I discovered a very useful website.  It contains a series of podcasts at a website called www.managertools.com.  From the site you can get weekly  podcasts on  manager tools and on career tools.

The two guys, Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne, provide very interesting conversations about simple practical approaches to a set of work challenges.  The management tools podcasts include the use of one-on-one meetings with staff, and skills such as delegation and feedback.

As well as the podcasts, there's a blog and a range of other resources.

Have a listen. I am sure you will find their ideas useful and stimulating.

Be a strong starter

A client this week began rehearsing a presentation.  Within a minute he was churning out turn-off expressions such as: 'Today I'm going to tell you about...' 'I just want to cover...' 'Then I'm going to move on to...'

You often hear these deadly phrases at the beginnings of a presentation.  None of them captivate an audience;instead they destroy any energy and attraction.

Aim to create energy with the phrases you use: 'Our company is in a unique position....' It is important that we understand...' 'Of course there is another key aspect....'  You don't have to stray into too much hype.

These empowering phrases not only interest the audience more - they energise the speaker as well.

As a second simple step: Switch to the active voice.  With this change, you quickly move energy levels up another notch:

'Our company is in a unique position....' becomes: 'The addition of Jane Smith to our group puts our company in a unique position'

' It is important that we understand...'becomes: 'We must understand...'

There are some great and well-written ideas for the start of a presentation at the interesting brain blog: Create Passionate Users